65. Pivots and romance book covers with illustrator Leni Kauffman

Episode 65 of the Stories to Love podcast is with Leni Kauffman.

Leni Kauffman is a Japanese-American illustrator who lives in Lisbon. Leni was born in Tokyo, and grew up in the UK. Her illustration work is inspired by her childhood growing up in Tokyo, nature, and travelling whenever she can.  Her illustrations are used in editorials and book covers, and she specializes in romance book covers. She works mostly digitally, but also enjoys working with traditional mediums such as gouache and watercolors.Through her illustrations she likes to explore narrative, inclusivity, nature, diversity, fashion, food, and travel.

In this episode we discussed her journey to become a professional artist, to include a pivot from fashion communication to graphic design, how one book swept her into the land of illustrating romantic book covers, and her process of collaborating with an author to illustrate a book cover. We also talked business: the pricing of work, scheduling her work and day, her little jungle of plants.

Having Leni on the podcast was amazing. I am a major fan of her work! You will hear how lovely she is, and it was just so nice to be in her presence (albeit virtually) for a few minutes. Book covers are so important—the idea that a book is judged by its cover is a very real thing. I have picked up books because they are illustrated so beautifully by Leni. 

I want to thank all of who have subscribed to this podcast! If you haven’t, I’d love it if you’d click to follow so you can get notifications of every new episode. And, if have found this podcast helpful and fun, please leave a rating and review—it really helps to boost discoverability. You can even share this episode with a friend. 

For more information about me, Tif, and submitting to the podcast, please head on to my website, at TifMarcelo.com

Links:
Episode 13
Tokyo Zodiac murders

***
Order FOREVERMORE, a romance anthology, comprised of ten interconnecting romance short stories surrounding the Moore family and a wedding in Napa California. Written by ten Filipino-American authors. Pick it up at books2read.com/forevermore

Note: some links are affiliate links

Contact Tif at tif@tifmarcelo.com
Please check out her website for podcast submissions